Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, affirmed the growth of the electronics sector in India and said that the Indian electronics manufacturing sector is set to double in size to more than USD 200 billion over the next 3-4 years.He bets on the reforms announced in the Budget for 2025-26 that will drive the growth.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced crucial reductions in import duties on several key components.

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These changes are likely to make mobile phones, smart LED TVs, and other electronic devices more affordable. They will also bolster the country’s position in global supply chains.

The Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on mobile phones, mobile phone chargers, and mobile printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) has been cut from 20 per cent to 15 per cent.

Further, the Budget has also allocated Rs 2,000 crore for the India AI Mission where the government aims to establish 20 AI data curation units at the central level over the next financial year, while also working to establish 80 AI labs at various higher education institutes across the country.

Also, the scheme to set up outsourced assembly and testing units has been allocated Rs 3,900 crore in the Budget for 2025-26. For the last fiscal, it was Rs 2,500 crore.

The scheme to establish semiconductor fabrication units in India has been allocated nearly Rs 2,500 crore, up from Rs 1,200 crore in the revised estimate for 2024-25.

Minister Vaishnaw said the Budget addresses industry concerns such as the rationalisation of tariff structures for raw materials and the storage of finished products in the electronics sector.

“Employment in the electronics sector is 25 lakh right now, and this could easily quadruple over the next four years. A lot of large-volume electronics manufacturing will come to the country now. The successes of electronics manufacturing can be used as a template for any sector,” Vaishnaw said.